Rugby: All Blacks and England battling over money

England and the All Blacks last battled for supremacy in 2014. Photo / photosport.nz

A deal for the All Blacks to play England this year has several hurdles to clear and is still largely seen as a long shot.

New Zealand playing the Barbarians at Twickenham on November 4 this year is considerably more likely than the All Blacks taking on England at the same ground on the same day.

The biggest hurdle not yet cleared in paving the way for the dream clash between England and the All Blacks is money. The Rugby Football Union have made the All Blacks a good offer, but it is not the offer the New Zealand Rugby Unions wants.

The NZRU have made it clear they want half the revenue generated and so far haven't been offered that much. They will hold out, only agreeing if England offer that magic figure.

But they will hold out without much confidence they will get what they want. The price is high and the RFU will be reluctant to set a precedent, even though they have agreed revenue sharing games in the past.

In 2012 the All Blacks and Black Ferns played in a double header at Twickenham - an arrangement that netted the NZRU $4 million. At the time, that was the best terms New Zealand had struck for a revenue sharing test anywhere in the world.

When they played England at Twickenham in 2008 outside the test window, they took home $1m. A year later they played the Barbarians at the same venue and earned $2m.

The cash-generating Bledisloe Cup tests of 2008 and 2010 in Hong Kong and 2009 in Tokyo, were high risk ventures that didn't deliver as much as they were expected.

Which led to a change of attitude in 2012 from the NZRU.They decided they were going to ramp up the price. The All Blacks were in demand around the world and if people wanted them, they would have to pay.

The RFU agreed to the increased demands in 2012, knowing they would still make in excess of $5m for themselves given Twickenham's capacity and ticket prices.

But the deal in 2012 was the maximum the RFU were prepared to pay. They are wary now of agreeing to a 50:50 split as it will set a precedent and longer term, Northern Hemisphere hosts don't want to be giving up half their income in these one-off games.

From a New Zealand perspective, money is the swing factor in whether the game goes ahead.

They have ample tough games lined up this season. They don't crave another brutal fixture - particularly at that time of year when they have to play seven tests in nine weeks.

But if the money is compelling they will accept the challenge - knowing that while they aren't desperate for another tough test, they would get plenty out of the challenge and it would be a way of taking a relatively inexperienced and young group of players out of their comfort zone.

Without the financial incentive, there would be more for the All Blacks to be gained in playing the Barbarians. That would be an opportunity to field emerging players while resting some of the heavy artillery in the midst of that brutal nine-week period.

The added complications are that England's premier clubs are already making noises about not releasing international players if the November 4 test goes ahead. They are under no compulsion to do so because the game sits outside the official test window.

Their agreement will no doubt have to be bought with compensation packages - making it even less likely England will agree to giving the All Blacks half the revenue.

As a final aside, the NZRU has a signed contract to play the Barbarians and while the famous old club would most likely let them out of it, breaking it because a better offer comes along is not way anyone wants to do business.

There's no deadline as such in regard to when talks have to conclude, but given the various associated commercial elements beyond ticket revenue that will need to be sorted, the situation won't be allowed to drag on.